Alas, the time has come that a fire has been lit under my buttocks to finish painting our chippy back steps. Our home is an 1870 Victorian and these steps have seen lots of wear with many coats of paint. My mother-in-law generously stripped the stairs when we first moved in during October of 2011. Since then, I have been in a creative funk regarding these steps. I have tried many different colors and have re-done my work 10 times over. I think, however, I finally have it! I have settled on Old White and Chateau Grey accompanied with dark wax to bring out the details and to help cover the high traffic dirt. The biggest painting obstacle in painting these steps is the elderly and narrow nature of the staircase. In a very small space, you must choose your colors wisely or your finished product will look more like a cave then a beautiful "livable" and "walk-able" space. I know this, because I initially started painting the stairs using Coco(a beautiful light cocoa color) and the stairs looked dark and ugly. The door below is the beautiful Annie Sloan color Coco.

So, you really want to chalk paint your stairs? Warning: This is an advanced level undertaking. It will take up to a month to complete this project and because people "walk on stairs" this is a very hard project to complete in a timely fashion. Step 1.) Clean your stairs. Wash them once and then wash them again. Once you have no dirt, hair, or particulate on your stairs proceed to the next step. Step 2.) Start painting. Again, choose your colors wisely. Dark colors will permanently close off your space. Try a light color palette...avoiding white if you do not want to wash your floors everyday. I used Annie Sloan's Old White for the top portion of the steps using 2 to 3 coats. Chateau Grey is an olive greenish color that I used on the front of the stairs and on the side wall. I used 2 to 3 coats of Chateau Grey. I also used about 1 can of each color for the stairs.

Step 3.) Wax your steps with Annie Sloan clear wax. Please take safety precautions. Use gloves, a mask, and good air ventilation when working with Annie Sloan wax. I used 1 can of clear wax with 2 to 3 light coats for my high traffic staircase. Let the wax dry overnight. Step 4.) Use the Annie Sloan dark wax to bring out the nooks and crannies. A little goes a very long way. If you use too much dark wax simply take the excess off with your clear wax. I used 1 light coat of dark wax. I use old rags to apply the wax and promptly throw them away as soon as I am done working. Step 5.) Buff it out. Take a dry, clean rag to buff the wax to a shine.When you can no longer buff your stairs to a shine, apply more clear wax. I would re-wax your stairs every Spring, Summer, Fall, and Winter to keep the stairs looking fresh and beautiful!

-------> Check out the LIVE action before and after YouTube video! Questions? Please leave them below and I would be happy to answer them. Happy Chalk Painting!

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